Dimmer Switch Question

[Calif240]

I'm having a couple of issues with my gauge lights... 1969 Charger

Can you guys confirm that I should be getting constant positive on the yellow wire, ground on the black going to the dimmer switch?

When the lights are turned on, should I also be getting positive on the tan wire at dimmer? It looks like my dimmer switch is working when I checked through an ohm-meter. However, something else is going on, as I can't seem to determine where the gremlin is.

Thanks in advance fellas...

Terry

[b5blue]

  My 70's acted up and I ran the thumb wheel up and down, limit to limit a bunch of times to clean the contacts on the windings and dome light contact points. So now and then I repeat and it's stayed working fine. 

[Calif240]

Figured it out... figured I'd repost just in case someone else faces a similar situation...

BLACK is NOT GROUND on the interior dimmer switch. BLACK is ground darn-near everywhere else on the car, and I just auto-assumed it was ground as I was doing all my other color-wire tracing. The BLACK dimmer switch wire is powered from the center terminal of the dash headlight switch. There are two power sources on the headlight switch, B1 and B2. B1 is the top Black wire with white tracer and powers the lights themselves. B2 (Pink) provides power for other areas and when the switch is thrown, it sends power to the center terminal (black) which feeds the dimmer switch (black). The dimmer switch takes the black power and feeds to the tan wire via the wheel...

Hope this helps if anyone else starts down a similar path...

Terry

[66FBCharger]

So a bad dimmer switch could cause no dash lights?
I will check for power at the dimmer switch first before looking at replacing the dimmer switch. The switch seems very hard to push.

[Calif240]

Three things (outside of wires and ground) can cause no gauge lights (best I can tell):
1) bad fuse - note that the tail-light fuse runs the gauge lights.
2) bad dimmer switch (not the high beam "dimmer" switch, but the interior dimmer switch)
3) headlight switch (provides power to interior dimmer switch)

I kept checking my headlight fuse and gauges fuse...